Machine eor replacing railroad-cars on the track



j. WHITE Car Replacer.

Patented June 22, 1858.

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UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN WHITE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR REPLACING RAILROAD-CARS ON THE TItACK.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 20,675, dated June 22, 1858-.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOI-1N IVHITE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Apparatusfor Replacing Cars on Railroad-Tracks or Removing Them Therefrom, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a plan; Fig. 2, a side elevation;Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal section; Fig. 4, a transverse verticalsection on the line m-m of Fig. 3.

IVhen by any accident a rail road car has been thrown from the track, ithas been found to be a great desideratum to have a convenient andportable apparatus, by means of which the few men who usually accompanya train as brakemen, &c., may be able to replace the car without muchdelay; or if it is broken to remove it entirely from the track, that therest of the train may proceed. I am aware that several attempts havebeen made to supply rail road companies with such an apparatus, but thearticles heretofore constructed have been too cumbersome to beconveniently carried on the train, or else from their arrangement ofparts, not easily applicable to the purpose for which they weredesigned.

The object of my present invention is to supply this deficiency and toconstruct an apparatus, which shall not ben cumbersome and occupy muchspace in transporting it and yet shall have sufiicient strength andpower to enable a few men to remove or replace the heaviest cars; at thesame time that its parts are so arranged that when it is applied to carsas now ordinarily constructed, it may not interfere with or derange thebrake levers, rods or other parts, but lift the truck up fair andsquare, and move it along laterally as required.

Thatothers skilled in the art may understand and use my invention I willproceed to describe the manner in which I have carried out the same.

In the drawings A, is a stout stick or beam of timber of suiiicientrigidity to support the weight to be put upon it, and of a lengthsomewhat greater than the width of the truck -of a car, under which itis to be placed. Its form is shown in section Fig. 4. It has a groove a,cut in its upper side through the middle of its length, and also agroove, c, on

each side. A flat strip of metal is secured to the top face of the stickon each side of the groove, a., by means of the screws, 0l, (Fig. l) andextends over on the outer edge part way over the groove, c, (as shown inFig. a). Two carriages, B traversefreely on the stick A, back and forthlongitudinally; as they are similar, I will describe but one of them. Itis made of cast iron or other suitable material, -of a width equal tothat of the stick A, its form is that of a square, shallow box, thesides, f, are perforated to receive the journals of two rolls, g, onwhich the carriage runs, and which revolve in contact with the plates,b, the sides f, extend down below the plates, Z), and are bent round atright angles under the outer edge of each plate at z', (as seen in Fig.t). The carriage is slipped on from one end of the stick A, and a cap,c, is screwed on at each end of the stick, this prevents the carriagesfrom being lost off or misplaced, and protects the end of the stick frombeing battered up or split. A ratchet- O, having suitable notches as at,h, is secured in the bottom of the groove, a. These notches are for theconvenience of applying a crow-bar or other lever to force thecarriages, B, along on the stick A, when the car has been raised fromthe ground.

Two screw jacks D, of the ordinary construction are placed beneath thetimber A, one near each end of it; the head, 7c, of the jack turns in acollar, Z, attached to the underside of the timber, or if preferred thejacks may be disconnected from the timber A, for the convenience oftransportation, and be applied when the apparatus is to be put in use.

The following is the manner in which I apply this apparatus in replacingon the track an eight wheel car of the ordinary construction :-Thetimber A, is passed between the two pairs of wheels of the truck. Thecarriages B, are adjusted with one of them under each side of the frameof the truck, (their being separate and independent allows them to beadjusted to any width of truck). A block of wood or other suitablesupport is placed beneath the foot of each jack D, to prevent itspressing into the ground; `the jack is then turned up as usual by meansof a stout bar of iron, inserted in the holes, m, in the head of theack. When the truck has been raised suiiiciently high to allow thewheels to clear the rail it is moved along lengthwise of the timber A,by means of a crow-bar or other suitable lever, the end of which isplaced in one of the notches in the ratchet bar C, as a fulcrum fromwhich to pry the truck along. 'I his will not be a difficult operationas the rolls of the carriages B, run on the metal strips, b, on the topof the timber. The truck is thus moved along until the wheels are overthe rails when the jacks are turned in the opposite direction and thetruck is lowered into its proper position on the track; when ifnecessary the same may be done with the other truck of the car. In thesame way a broken car may be removed from the track, in an easy andexpeditious manner.

I have spoken of my replacer as applied to the trucks of cars, but it isevident that it also may be used for replacing or removing locomotivesor cars which are not furnished with trucks, as the required blockingmay be used.

I may here mention some of the advantages which I consider my carreplacer as possessing over any other apparatus constructed for thispurpose with which I am acquainted. It is cheaper, more simple, and lessliable to the wear and derangement of its parts. It occupies less spacefor transportation and is more easily applied. By it the truck may belifted by bringing the bearings beneath the frame of the truck, andwithout bending or deranging the brake rods which may lie between thesides of the frame and without being obliged, as would be the case witha larger apparatus, to lift from the platform or body of the car, thetruck swinging below by the chains or other attachments. From itsportability the hands who accompany the train will be induced to carryit with them, and thus have it ready for an emergency, whereas a morecumbersome contrivance would be discarded,

or generally left at home in the work shop.

I am aware that the mechanical devices which I employ have all beenpreviously used for raising or for moving heavy bodies, and also thatfor the purposes to which my apparatus is applicable, machines have beenconstructed in which some of the features of mine have been used butwithout producing a similar apparatus. I therefore do not claim any ofthe constituent parts of this machine individually or collectivelyexcept when arranged as I have described, butl/Vhat I do claim as myinvention and desire to secure by Letters Patent as a new article ofmanufacture is- The above described car replacer consisting essentiallyof the beam A, with its two separate and independent carriages B,running on rolls g, with the screw-jacks D, for raising the beam, thewhole constructed and operating in the manner substantially as hereinset forth for the purpose specified.

JOHN WHITE.

IVitnesses:

Trios. B. BoAoH, Trios. L. GLOVER.

